FTSE Ousts Venezuela From All-World Index

The decision to remove Venezuela was based on market
consultation conducted by the FTSE Americas Regional
Committee.
The committee based its decision on Venezuela’s continued
breach of FTSE ground rules pertaining to the management of
the index as a whole, according to a FTSE news release.

Specifically, the committee found Venezuela in violation
of a rule relating to the country inclusion rule concerning
exchange controls.
“Because foreign exchange is not available to international
investors wishing to sell on the Caracas stock exchange,
many fund managers have marked the value of Caracas-listed
shares held at zero. These exchange controls make Venezuela
effectively uninvestable,” said Peter Leahy, Director of
Structured Products at State Street Global Advisors and
Co-Chairman of the FTSE Americas Regional Committee.

FTSE said at this time, there is no intention of
removing any other markets from the FTSE All-World Index.
The changes will be effective, Monday June 23, 2003.
More information regarding the removal of Venezuela
from the FTSE All-World Index can be found at
www.ftse.com
.